Will New $399 PS3 Model Hit Stores Soon?

The Playstation 3 is currently being dominated by the 360/Wii in terms of sales. Despite outselling the 360 in July, it has since lost a lot of ground, dropping from about 55,000 units sold per week to 27,000 units per week. The 360 on the other hand, has been gaining momentum since its price drop in August. The 360 has risen from 35,000 units per week in July to over 100,000 units per week as of 9/22(the week BEFORE Halo 3) - beating the Nintendo Wii for the first time ever. Bioshock and Madden have also helped contribute to the rise in sales, as have the anticipation of H3. Units for the Halo 3 week were expected to be close to 200,000.

This has put Sony in a tight spot. With no major established franchises hitting the PS3 this holiday season, Sony is left without anything big to move systems for the holiday season. Nintendo will be to riding Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Brothers Brawl, while the 360 has Mass Effect and Halo 3 to lean on. Sony's expected big hits are almost all new intellectual properties, including Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, Haze, Folklore, etc. The only established title it has coming out is Ratchet and Clank(which is no where near as popular as H3, or the 2 Nintendo games).

Sony is getting desperate. Rumors have been floating around since E3 that Sony would unveil a new SKU at $399 to compete with the 360. These rumors seem to be coming to light this week. Obviously, if Sony were to announce a new SKU, this would be the time to do it. Here are a few different things that have hinted towards a new SKU:

First, the FCC showed on its Web site that it was testing a new PS3 model, model CECHGO1. Soon after, Sony asked the FCC to alter the information and make it private, and it complied.

Then, BluRaySavings.com updated their website to show 3 PS3 models eligible to receive the free 5 Blu-Ray DVDs, including the aforementioned CECHGO1. It, too, was later changed to just say PLAYSTATION 3, instead of the specific models

Next, G4 TV announced it had a major video game announcement that would be revealed first by its network. The announcement was set for Sept. 27, the same day the FCC information was released. G4 then postponed the announcement to a later date because they needed to be sure the information could be released.

Sony then told GamePro that it would have a big announcement to make on October 12. It was tight lipped about any further details.

Today, Best Buy documents have apparently been leaked, showing a 40GB PS3 with Spiderman 3 Blu-Ray DVD, and having a stock date of Oct. 28, and no release date. Also, Play.com has just recently started taking pre-orders for the new 40GB PS3 model. Whether Play.com is just relying on these rumors, or if this is in fact a confirmation of the 40GB PS3 is still unknown.

Many were skeptical when they first heard these rumors start to come in. However, it looks like there may just be another PS3 model on the way. Its a desperate move by Sony, but it needs to get the PS3 established and also needs to establish several of the new IPs coming out in October and November.
Sony has a strong line up in October/November, and a price drop would complement it perfectly.